Any Berry Jam

Way back in 2002 I was pregnant with my first child.  I discovered BabyCenter and all their excellent content for moms.  One of their featured bloggers was a lady named Catherine Newman.  I instantly loved her entries and have been following her ever since where ever she may write.  This recipe was published in the now defunct Family Fun magazine and really is easy enough for older kids to make (mostly) on their own.  I'll cut/paste her recipe here, but since I have the link to her post I strongly encourage you to go read her whole post.  She gives good tips for making good jam and you get to see her cute son in cooking action.  Plus, she includes many pictures that are informative and pretty.  Seriously, check her out.  You'll thank me.

Any Berry Jam

Recipe and picture by Catherine Newman

Click HERE to read all of Catherine Newman's wonderful words.

Makes 4-5 cups

This is a recipe I developed for FamilyFun, and it's in this month's issue along with a couple others, including Pool Noodle Salad, which I've made many times this summer. As for the jam, which is bright, fruity, and fantastic: there are lots of different kinds of pectin, and they all seem to work fine with this super-easy, fool-proof method.

4 cups crushed blueberries, blackberries, raspberries, or strawberries (hulled). Crush the berries with a potato masher before measuring--it will likely take about a quart and a half of berries to make 4 cups crushed. If the strawberries are not crushably ripe, slice them first.

1 ½ cups sugar

1 pouch powdered or liquid pectin

Put the berries in a large, heavy pot. Stir together the sugar and pectin in a bowl (if you are using liquid pectin, skip this step), then stir the sugar and pectin thoroughly into the berry mixture. Bring the berries to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring constantly. You are looking for a full, rolling boil--the kind that can't be stirred down. Boil for one minute, then ladle the jam into very clean jars (leave an inch of headroom for expansion in the freezer), cap, cool to room temperature, and then use or freeze.

Strawberry Vanilla Jam

This, my friends, is some seriously good jam.  I'm honestly not much of a cook - I don't enjoy it and my family has such a variety of picky eaters that real cooking is not in demand in my world.  But let me tell you, this jam disappears within a week of being made.  True story.  I've never even bothered to seal it properly.  (The first batch I made went in the freezer -in these little containers- but they were eaten so quickly it was silly to even freeze them.  Now, I'll make a batch of this, put it in a large container and it's gone before I know it.  Honestly, this could be the best strawberry jam you'll ever eat.  

*quick reminder - I did not create this recipe.  I copied/pasted it from some forgotten website several years ago and it's been lounging in my email archives.  If it's yours, please alert me not only so that I can direct traffic your way, but also because I'm sure you have more yummy stuff I need to make

Ingredients

• 1 quart strawberries -about 4 cups chopped strawberries.  (I have used frozen and they work just fine.)
• 
  
• 2 cups sugar, divided
• 
  
• 2 vanilla beans, split and scraped (I'm not enough of a cook to even know where to buy vanilla beans.  I use good vanilla extract - about a teaspoon.)
• 
  
• 1 lemon, zested and juiced

Instructions

1. Wash and chop berries. Toss them with 1 cup of sugar and the vanilla beans/seeds and place in a large jar or bowl. (If you're using frozen berries, partially thaw them but chop while they're still quite firm and they're much easier to cut than if they thaw completely.)
2. Allow the berries to macerate for at least 2-3 hours and up to 72 hours. (If using frozen berries, I mostly skip this step. I chop them, then toss w/ sugar and let thaw completely but cook as soon as they're  thawed.)
3. When you're ready to make the jam, prepare three half pint jars.
4. Pour macerated strawberries into a large pot and add the remaining cup of sugar.
5. Bring to a boil and cook until the jam reaches 220 degrees, stirring very regularly.
6. Add the lemon zest and juice in the final 5 minutes of cooking.
7. Once the jam has reached 220 degrees, remove the pan from the heat.
8. Pour jam into your prepared jars.
9. Wipe rims, apply lids and rings and process in your canner for 10 minutes (normally I'd admonish you not to start your timer until the water has returned to a boil. However, as long as your water is quite hot when the jars go into the canner, the time it will take to return to boiling should be minimal).
10. When time is up, remove jars from canner and let them cool on a towel-lined counter top.
11. When jars are cool enough to handle, remove rings and check seals.
12. If any jars are not sealed, store them in the fridge and use them first.
13. Store sealed jars in a cool, dark place.

*When I freeze jam, I prepare it exactly as the recipe says, but fill plastic containers which seal well, leaving about an inch of room at the top for expansion.  Allow to come to room temperature before lidding.  I mark the date with a dry erase marker on each container and pop them into the freezer.  I guess if you doubled or tripled this recipe it would be worth your time to either can or freeze it, but a single batch won't last long enough to go bad.  I promise.